At last weekend’s “Coexisting With Wildlife in the Ojai Valley” event, wildlife experts equipped more than 300 locals with the tools, resources and knowledge to ensure peaceful coexistence with their animal neighbors.
“We aim… to empower people so that they can feel good about living and heading out on the trail in and near wild spaces,” said Korinna Domingo from the National Wildlife Federation and founder of the Cougar Conservancy.
For several months, social media sites have been erupting with reports of wildlife sightings, many of which have expressed alarm about those encounters. Discussion over wildlife encounters became more widespread following an incident in which a mountain lion reportedly attacked and killed an Ojai resident’s leashed dog.
“When community concerns are raised and people are talking online… that’s when [our departments] can step in and hold a community event to facilitate an opportunity for learning,” Domingo said.
Attendees browsed exhibits and bought raffle tickets before the April 15 event kicked off with an introduction by Chumash Elder Julie Tumamait-Stenslie.
Three guest speakers followed. Jessica West, from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, focused on coexistence with bears and coyotes, Domingo addressed coexistence with mountain lions, and Beth Pratt, from the National Wildlife Federation, spoke about the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing.
The speakers said that the increasing frequency of wildlife reports could be due to the number of people installing home security cameras, which allow for indirect sightings, particularly at night.
Human development and subsequent habitat loss could also be causing more encounters. Luckily, the majority end without incident, and the human/humans involved may not even realize they are in the midst of one.
There are, of course, exceptions. But in these rare instances, the experts emphasized that animals are just being animals.
“They don’t know human rules,” said Pratt. “When a mountain lion goes after a dog, they don’t know it’s your pet dog. They see an animal that resembles a coyote, which is their natural prey.”
Nor are they able to distinguish between “human territory” and the wilderness.
“Wildlife doesn’t recognize property lines or boundaries,” said West. “They don’t see that a fence should be separating a backyard from the Los Padres National Forest.”
Said Tumamait-Stenslie to this same point: “We can’t change their patterns, we can only change ourselves.”
It is within the power of local residents to reduce the risk of negative outcomes to these wildlife interactions – to preemptively minimize conflict in all ways possible, event organizers said. The good news is some of these things are very simple.
West and Domingo described some coexistence practices that people should follow in their everyday lives, from perhaps the more obvious “do not feed wildlife” to some of the lesser known, like hiking with a bear whistle – “scaring is caring” West joked.
Installment of electric fencing, cougar- and coyote-proof enclosures, scare devices, and guard dogs were all cited as good deterrents. Making your property less attractive to wild animals by preventing access to food sources, like trash cans, and to vegetation where they may seek refuge, was also recommended.
And finally, in the case these precautions fail, the audience learned how to react in an actual encounter with a bear, coyote, or mountain lion.
Not only do these measures help to protect humans, they also protect animal life.
“If we do not figure out how to coexist in our human spaces, wildlife are not going to have a future,” said Pratt.
For example, healthy coexistence practices should reduce the need for use of rodenticide, a harmful toxin which works its way into soil, water sources, and up the food chain. A study performed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife found 95% of mountain lion carcasses in the state to have traces of this poison in their systems.
After the presentation, an open forum allowed people to raise specific questions of the wildlife experts and seek advice.
Attendee Alison Williams said she appreciated how dedicated the panel was to addressing public concerns, and the organizers felt equally as grateful for their engaged and receptive audience.
“Ojai has been a really supportive community about respecting wildlife and trying to set up both [animals] and people for success,” Pratt said.